Marcella's Blog

If I don't lose 10 lbs by the time I get home... Yesterday and today were our first work days. My team spent the majority of our day checking out buildings and photographing. I say I am going to lose weight cuz we walked around all day from place to place. My feet are aching, but that is something I rather have then sitting at a desk all day. We have met so many neat people and have heard so many cool stories about war, life on base, history of the base, etc. I met this one Special Agent today who is going to hook us up with VIP passes to Juarez next weekend! One of the highlights of today was seeing 4 fighter jets fly overhead. The noise the formations were awesome! Tonight a few people from the White Sands, NM group are coming down and we are going to check out downtown El Paso. I think tomorrow we may head to UTEP (University of Texas El Paso) to see that part of town. You know me being the tour guide...I have to evaluate the others.. ha ha ha I hope everyone is doing well! Miss

This day was also dedicated to learning. We spent a large portion of the day in more training, but we also got to tour some buildings and practice what we have learned. Seeing more of base made me want to live on it more. And those men in uniform make it even more appealing! mmm mmm Anyways, we figured out where "The Pass" (el paso) actually is. It is in the valley of mountains that run between Juarez, Mexico and Texas. About 2-3 million people live just across the border in Juarez and one can easily tell from the amount of light you see on the horizon at night. About 600,000 people live in El Paso. This evening we went on a run and then went out to "Teddy's Lounge." It is supposed to be a hotspot with a live Mariachi band. It was ok. Drinks were el cheapo but there was not much dancing and we were by far the youngest people there. The band was good and I even got to tap into my spanish to try and translate what the songs were about. On our way home we stopped

Today was a day full of learning. We had training all day. We went out to lunch and saw a lot of Border Patrol personnel at Chili's. We went to check out the mall....there were stores there that we have never even heard of...it is not a mall I will be shopping at. We went to Hooters for dinner. It was a intense process trying to find it, but once we saw that great orange sign we knew we were good to go. That was a delightful experience. Our waitress gave us a list of places to check out downtown. I think I want to live on base. It seems like a fun time! Eating out twice a day is making me sick. I might learn to cook while I am out here! Woo HOo! Finally, she is becoming domestic!

What a long day! The morning started out well. I met Steve at the airport and we headed out to Dallas for the first leg of the trip. The plane was full, but we were lucky enough to have a spare seat between us. It was a comfy flight, we even talked geography (yes we are nerds). We got to Dallas ahead of schedule and the connecting flight was late, which gave us about a 3.5 hour layover. We walked all around the terminals and had an alcohol infused lunch (the drinks were large). We then met up with everyone on the connecting flight and headed to El Paso. We got our luggage and rental car with no problems. Next stop :Hotel First Impressions: Uhhhhh....where do we park? Highlights: The front office was closed due to construction so we had to check in in the laundry room. The only elevator in the building is broken. (Naturally, we are on floor 2) Danny's reservation was lost. Best Part: I went to check into my room, after a long day of traveling, and much to my surprise I open the door

Sweet! I remembered my password! So I am off to El Paso tomorrow morning. I am looking forward to traveling for work. We are going to Fort Bliss to measure the "usable space" in the military buildings. Our goal is to measure 4000 sq.ft per hour. Good thing we are wearing tennis shoes. We are using these neat laser measuring things, which should be an ineresting experience. The first two days we are there Steve and I will be taking pictures of all the buildings! I sure hope it doesn't rain! :) Right now I am taking a break from packing. It is had to pack for a long time and for both work and pleasure. Not to mention I am such a girl when it comes to things like that.